


The Dragon's Cave

by LookerDeWitt



Category: King's Quest (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, I swear it's not that bad I just figured I'd use the violence tag for good measure, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-24
Updated: 2015-11-24
Packaged: 2018-05-03 06:14:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5279861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LookerDeWitt/pseuds/LookerDeWitt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU in which Graham saves Achaka from the dragon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dragon's Cave

**Author's Note:**

> There was a lot of talk about Graham saving Achaka AUs on tumblr that inspired me to write this. Except I wanted a happy ending instead. So that's where this came from. Yeah.

Graham and Achaka stood just a few feet away from the sleeping dragon. The elated mood Graham had just been in quickly faded, replaced by fear. He found himself beginning to breathe heavily, despite his effort to remain quiet. They had been dealing with the dragon for the past couple of hours. Well, Achaka had. He had always been sure to distract it, swinging just out of reach of the dragon’s claws while Graham sneaked by, mostly out of sight. Maybe that was why Achaka seemed so calm right now. Achaka quietly drew his bow, the arrow inches away from the sleeping dragon’s eye. He paused before pointing it at the hole in the cave, then back at the dragon.

“Bota?” Achaka asked. Clearly, he was letting Graham decide the dragon’s fate. 

Graham took a deep breath, unsure of what to do. He was terrified. This dragon was monstrous in size and it could likely kill the two of them in an instant once awoken. Plus, there was no easy means of escape around them. However, an eye this impressive would surely win them some points at the tournament, assuming that Achaka was willing to share. That, and they had spent hours in this cave; who knew if they’d be able to find an eye in time? He tried to think of what Manny would do, but realized pretty quickly that Manny likely wouldn’t even be in this situation in the first place. He took a deep breath and made his choice.

“Stalama, stalama!” He finally said, pointing to the rocks at the mouth of the cave. Graham wanted to win the tournament; he wanted that more than anything in the world. But there was no point if he wasn’t even alive to participate. They needed to secure an exit route before they did anything. Achaka followed Graham’s response, quickly shooting an arrow into the rocks up above.

The noise was enough to wake the creature up, and Achaka quickly shoved the rope into Graham’s hands, ensuring his safe get away. Graham took the rope and swung towards the cave entrance, took panicked to argue. Just as he was about to reach the ledge, the dragon lunged towards him, ready to take a bite out of him. Graham squeezed his eyes shut, ready for it to strike; but its fangs never bore down on him. Instead, the dragon cried out in pain, breathing fire in agony. Achaka had shot it in the eye just in the nick of time.

However, Graham had little time to relax. He could see that the dragon was after Achaka now, and despite Achaka’s skills in both evasion and strength, his chances of getting out of this one looked slim. The dragon had tossed him onto a ledge all the way across the cavern with just its tail, and it looked like he was having a hard time moving. There was no way he’d be able to escape this on his own.

Graham knew he had to do something. Manny had told him that intelligence could always beat out brute strength. He hoped for his own sake that Manny was right. Graham pulled the bell he had picked up earlier in the courtyard out of his pocket, and threw it as hard as he could at the dragon. It was light, it would travel far and make noise, and if he truly needed another one, there were plenty just like it in the King’s courtyard. Graham’s aim was good, and the bell hit the back of the dragon’s head, then clattered to the ground with a loud chime. The sound- or the feeling of being hit, Graham wasn’t sure- brought the dragon’s attention back onto him. Graham swung on the rope, quickly making a distraction.

“Hey, uh, dragon!!” Graham stammered, waving at the creature. “Over here! I bet I taste way better than a suit of armor!” Graham’s wild movements and loud voice appealed to the dragon, and it headed towards him with the same malice it just held for Achaka. Graham waited for it to take a few steps towards him before letting go of the rope and tumbling down to the cave floor a few yards below him. It was a rough landing, but he got up and kept running, quickly climbing back into the narrow tunnel he and Achaka used to get here. The dragon didn’t let up, clawing and hissing at the tunnel entrance, but Graham kept moving until the dragon’s roars became muffled and the shaking from it clawing at the rock wall ceased.

Once he reached the other tunnel entrance, he let himself relax and take a few deep breaths. He was back at the clearing where Achaka had taught him how to shoot properly. He noticed the rope was still there, too. He’d be able to head back. Back to where Achaka was, at least. Graham gulped. He hoped Acaka was still there and still alive. He had gotten the dragon’s attention, of course, but he had been so preoccupied with escaping that he hadn’t made sure if Achaka had gotten out of there. Plus, there was no knowing whether or not the dragon had attacked him after he had left. Graham started to jog; he needed to make sure he was okay. It was the least he could do.

If Achaka died, he wasn’t sure what he’d do with himself. Achaka had spent this entire afternoon protecting him: instructing him through dangerous paths, distracting the dragon so that he could make it through safely… even with the dragon feet away from the both of them, Achaka had made sure Graham would be the first one to leave.

“Why did he do that?” He mumbled to himself as he continued on through the cave. If he was honest, he didn’t think Achaka cared much for him from the start. It wouldn’t be that surprising, seeing how two of the three other knights in the tournament didn’t seem to care much for him. It would have been so easy for him to leave Graham behind, so why hadn’t he? Was it out of pity? Or was he just that kind? Maybe Achaka really was the best candidate for the knighthood.

Thinking about it made him a little… flustered, if he was honest. He hadn’t had that many friends as a kid. Not that he was lonely, of course! He loved spending time with his family. But he wasn’t noticed that much after he left the house. Maybe that’s why he had freaked out so much while talking to Manny. Looking back on that, it was pretty embarrassing. He hoped he’d be able to make a better impression with Achaka. He really wanted to impress him. Achaka was just so… _cool_. The things he was capable of… it was incredible! And the fact that he had taken the time to teach Graham how to shoot, and had praised him and given him an affectionate punch to the shoulder…

Okay, if he was honest, it had hurt a little bit. But Graham figured that wasn’t Achaka’s intention. That, and he had probably forgotten that he was wearing a full suit of armor. Regardless, thinking back on it all was making him feel nervous.

He sighed. This always happened. Anytime anyone gave him positive attention for more than ten minutes, and he’d have a crush.

“Stay focused.” He told himself. He’d get over it eventually, and that wasn’t what mattered right now! He kept running.

It felt like ages, but he finally reached the clearing where he had last seen Achaka. Luckily for the both of them, the flames the dragon created had died down, and the only thing left behind was some dark, ashen stains on the rocks. Achaka lay a few feet away from the cliff, close to where another tunnel began. Something told him the dragon’s sight was based on movement; because Achaka hadn’t moved far from when he last saw him. That, and Achaka’s silver armor blended in well with the surrounding rocks. Graham was relieved that he hadn’t been eaten and that he hadn’t left, but he was cautious. Achaka’s armor was a little scuffed up, and he wasn’t moving. He had been thrown around a little bit. Clearly he had been able to keep fairly hidden, but what if…?

“Achaka?” He called out. He paused fearfully, but when the dragon didn’t show up and kill him, Graham figured he was safe for now. “Achaka?!” He knelt down besides Achaka nervously. Achaka didn’t respond to him, and it didn’t look like he was moving.

“No, come on, please…” He looked around nervously, considering his options. It would be hard to tell if someone was breathing with their armor on, right? He had to make sure. “There’s no way you’d die that quickly.” Carefully, he pulled off Achaka’s helmet, revealing his face. Graham gasped at the sight of him.

For lack of a better word, he was… beautiful. He had dark skin and long, curly black hair that was tied into multiple braids. Graham could feel himself blushing, but couldn’t focus on Achaka’s looks for long. The right side of Achaka’s forehead had a small gash running across it, and the skin surrounding the scar was beginning to bruise.

Graham leaned in close, and let out a sigh of relief when he heard Achaka inhale. He was all right. A little scraped up and unconscious, but alive nonetheless.

“Thank goodness…!” Graham exclaimed. Achaka didn’t respond, of course, but Graham smiled nonetheless, wiping the blood on his temple away with his sleeve. “Don’t worry, I’m going to get you out of here. Just wait.” 

He attempted to lift Achaka up, but immediately dropped him, accidentally sending his helmet down into the clearing below. He groaned; Achaka had made this look so easy when he had carried him earlier. He tried it again and again, until he finally managed to get Achaka’s arm around his shoulders and hoisted him into an almost standing position. His feet were going to drag, but Graham figured that was okay for now. Armor was meant to get a little scuffed up anyways, right?

“All right, and we’re off!” Graham exclaimed. He was only a little ways from the cavern, where he and Achaka could properly be safe from the dragon’s reach. It would be a little difficult, but Graham was ready for that. Besides, it would be nice to be the one to protect Achaka for once. He began to walk forward, blissfully unaware that dropping Achaka’s helmet had alerted the dragon just a little ways below them.

* * *

When Achaka woke up, his head was pounding. He clutched it for a moment, but quickly drew his hand back at the stinging sensation. When he looked at his hand, there were a few flakes of dried blood on it. It began to come back to him. He had awoken the dragon; it had attacked him and knocked him around. But before it could get to him, Graham had…

Achaka shot up immediately. Where was Graham? Graham had distracted the dragon from him… but where was he? Did he get hurt?

It was only then that he realized his helmet was missing. He felt a wave of relief pass through him. While he wanted to know where it was, he realized it must have been Graham who had removed it. Graham must have moved him, too. The formation of rocks that surrounded him looked different, and he could see that the drop off in the cavern was quite a few yards away now. He could see the dragon, too, clawing at the rocks at the opening of the cave but unable to actually reach them.

That would’ve been more comforting if it wasn’t for the trail of bloodstains leading to his current location. It started out as just small splatters, closer to where the dragon was, but as it got closer to where he sat now, there were long lines of blood along the rocky path. It wasn’t his blood. If it was, he probably wouldn’t be awake right now. That, and it continued on a bit from where he was sitting. He got up and quickly followed the path of blood to its final location. A few feet away from where he had been dragged was Graham, slumped up against a tall rock. He was curled in on himself, his hand wrapped around his waist. Achaka could see it from here; blood was streaming from his side, seeping through his clothes and covering his hand and the ground beneath him. He immediately rushed over to his side, panicked. Much to his surprise, Graham was still conscious. However, his breaths were heavy and labored, and his face was sheet white. He looked up at Achaka when he knelt down before him and, despite his injury, he smiled.

“Achaka…” His eyes were lidded and he looked dazed. “Are you okay…?”

Achaka was still trying to get used to English; he found it was much easier to read and write it than it was to listen and speak it. The poster explaining the tournament was how he had found out about it in the first place! But he knew enough to know that Graham had said his name and asked him one of the many variations of how he was doing. He nodded but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Graham’s wound. He reached forward to get a better look, but Graham stopped him, weakly placing his other hand on Achaka’s shoulder in a feeble attempt to keep him back.

“Don’t…” He said. “It’s fine… I’m fine, I’m…” Achaka ignored him and gently pulled Graham’s arm off his injury. It looked really bad. Something, he assumed the dragon’s claw, had slashed Graham, creating a long, thick gash starting at his side and running across his stomach.  All things considered, it could have been much worse. The dragon must have just grazed him. If it had cut him just a little deeper, he’d have been dead where he stood. But it was still bleeding quite substantially. If nothing was done, Graham wouldn’t make it much longer.

Achaka pulled off the purple shawl he was wearing and began wrapping it around Graham’s waist. He didn’t have much on him when it came to first aid, so this would have to do. He noticed Graham’s eyes slipping shut while he did this, so he gently shook him in an attempt to keep him awake. He needed to be awake as long as possible.

“Stalama.” Achaka said. Graham slowly nodded, averting his gaze away.

“Sorry…” He replied. He sat in silence after that, watching Achaka work as he tried to keep awake. Despite his best efforts in patching him up, Achaka could see the blood beginning to stain his old shawl, and Graham’s breaths were getting slower and slower. He began to panic and quickened his pace.

He liked Graham. Though he didn’t understand what he was saying most of the time, he proved to be a great help, an enthusiastic learner, and overall a good person. He had risked his life to keep Achaka safe twice now. And while Achaka was used to doing that for others, he never had anyone do it for him before. Graham had just met him, and already he was willing to be killed by a dragon to keep him safe. Achaka couldn’t let someone as brave as that die.

As soon as he had finished the makeshift bandage, he hoisted Graham up into his arms, careful not to irritate the wound. Regardless, Graham didn’t seem to be feeling much anymore. He couldn’t even bring himself to wrap his arms around Achaka’s neck. Achaka began to run. Graham was light, and he needed to hurry. Graham was just barely clinging on to consciousness, and he gazed wordlessly at him with glazed eyes. He so desperately wanted to tell him that he was going to be safe and that everything was going to be okay, but he just couldn’t figure out how to say any of it in a way that he’d understand. He would have to make him comfortable with what language he could manage.

He looked down at him and whispered, “Graham.”

Graham looked surprised for a moment; after all, this was the first time Achaka had said his name. He smiled weakly in response before his eyes finally slipped shut.

* * *

Graham remembered it being dark. His body ached horribly, but he couldn’t do anything about it. He couldn’t bring himself to move his body at all; even breathing felt laborious. Yet somehow, he was moving. He recognized this sensation. It was like being a child again, cradled in his mother’s arms while she carried him to bed. But that couldn’t be the case. He was far too old for that now, wasn’t he? Plus, he could tell he was outside. He could feel the heat of the sun hitting his face and the sound of leaves crunching below him.

“Achaka!” The voice sounded muffled, but Graham could still tell it was Manny’s. “Wh- what happened to him? What did you  _do_?!” It was the first time Graham had ever heard Manny sound anything but calm. Achaka said something back to him in his own language that Graham couldn’t quite make out. He wanted to get up and explain it all to Manny, but he couldn’t even bring himself to open his eyes. Manny and Achaka’s argument soon became muffled as he felt himself blacking out again. 

The next time Graham woke up, he found himself in a soft bed. He felt awful; his body ached all over and he felt feverish. He tried to ignore it, staring blankly at the ceiling to try and figure out where he was instead. This definitely wasn’t his bedroom back at home. So where in the world was he?

He was pulled from his thoughts when he noticed something warm in his hand. He looked down and noticed Achaka was sitting beside his bed, his body slouched forward and his head resting on the mattress close to his side. He was fast asleep, yet he still held on firmly to Graham’s hand. Graham felt his cheeks heating up at the sight. Achaka was… holding his hand… Sure, it wasn’t that strange; after all, he had just carried him halfway across Daventry. But the sight still made him flustered. He wanted to say something and signify that he was awake, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Achaka looked exhausted; and Graham couldn’t help but stare at the scar across his forehead. For now, he’d let Achaka rest. Nervously, he reached forward and stroked Achaka’s hair. He remembered his mom would do the same for him when he had trouble sleeping as a child, so maybe it’d work here, too.

The moment didn’t last long, however, and soon enough Graham heard footsteps approaching. Graham still couldn’t bring himself to sit up, but when he turned his head, he saw it was Manny approaching. He quickly withdrew his hand, hoping he didn’t see.

“Morning, Graham.” Manny said. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m… okay.” Truth be told, he still felt awful. His head was pounding and there was still dull throbbing in his side. But he supposed that was better than being in the belly of a dragon. “Uh, where am I? What happened?”

“You’re in the castle’s infirmary. After we-”

“We’re in the castle?!” Graham exclaimed. He tried to sit up and get a better look around, but a sharp pain in his side stopped him from getting too far. Manny approached and gently helped Graham back down.

“Easy, Graham, easy.” He said, sounding just the slightest bit irritated. “Yes, we’re in the castle. I’m sure we’ll get a better look around it once we win the tournament.”

“The tournament… right…” Graham paused. “Shoot! Manny, I never got an eye! Does that mean I’m disqualified?”

“I wouldn’t worry about that, Graham.” Manny chuckled. “It’s all been taken care of.”

“What do you mean?”

“I preordered some eyeballs months before this tournament began. There was enough to get me, you and Achaka all into the next stage.”

“Thank you, Manny. But… how am I supposed to participate like this?”

“Well, normally you’d be disqualified, but…” he gestured towards Achaka. “Achaka refused to participate in any of the events until you were back in it as well.”

“…What? Really?” Graham gasped.

“Yes. So the whole thing’s been put on hold for now. If it were anyone else, they probably would’ve gone on with it. But Daventry seems to really want Achaka. And you, of course.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, correct me if I’m wrong, but Achaka told me that the two of you escaped the clutches of a dragon, and that’s how you wound up like this. Is that true?“ Graham nodded. “No one’s faced that dragon and lived to tell the tale, you know. You two have become quite popular around here.”

“Are you serious?” Graham could feel himself blushing a little.

“Of course! Lots of people are dying to meet the two knight hopefuls that took on the dragon and lived. And I can’t say that I disagree with them.” He sighed. “Graham, I’ll be frank with you. What the two of you did was far too rash for my tastes. But when it came down to it, you really pulled through when it counted. I’m proud of you. And I think he is, too. He hasn’t left your side for a moment.”

Manny didn’t stay much longer after that, deciding to let Graham get rest. After all, the sooner he got better, the sooner everyone could get back into the tournament. If it was up to Graham, he’d be back out there right now; but he supposed having one night to catch his breath wasn’t too bad.

It had been a strange turn of events, but Graham was content with the way things had turned out. It had been so close; both he and Achaka had nearly died. But, in the end it had all turned out for the best. Daventry was nothing like he had expected, but at least it had been exciting. He gave Achaka’s hand a small squeeze before drifting off to sleep, dreaming of what adventures lay before them. 


End file.
